The next 12 days are filled with parades and parties. Do you really think you can avoid all of the usual Mardi Gras food and drink? Probably not, but there are still ways to keep your choices in check.

The Times-Picayune ArchiveMardi Gras parades are always lined with families eating fried chicken. Pictured here, fried chicken from Willie Mae's Scotch House on St. Ann street in New Orleans. If you're looking to watch your caloric intake, take the skin off of fried chicken to shave more than half the calories and nearly all of the fat.

Here are 10 easy swaps to make parade-route favorites a notch healthier without sacrificing flavor and convenience.

1. Pack Baked Tostitos Scoops instead of Frito Scoops and get 80 percent less fat — and double the fiber — per serving.

2. Use plain nonfat Greek yogurt in place of sour cream for your favorite dips and you’ll save nearly 200 calories — and get triple the protein — per ½ cup serving.

3. Trade your Wheat Thins or pita chips (yes, even the “simply naked” and “multigrain” pita chips contain more refined flour than anything else) for All Bran crackers and you’ll get an extra 3 to 4 grams of fiber per serving.

4. Lighten up chili by using 95 percent lean ground beef instead of ground chuck and you’ll cut nearly a third of the calories and half the saturated fat. Add beans and get about 10 grams of fiber per cup — about one-third of the recommended daily intake.

6. Reach for Bud Select 55 beer instead of Michelob Ultra (or any light beer) and save 120 calories for every three beers.

7. Take the skin off of fried chicken to shave more than half the calories and nearly all of the fat.

8. Go for the seafood gumbo (sans the rice) and skip the jambalaya to save as much as 200 calories and 20-plus grams of carbohydrate per cup.

9. Trade up to chicken sausage instead of pork to slash more than half the calories and as much as 85 percent of the fat. It’s available at most grocery store, including Sam’s.

10. Nix the 20-ounce frozen daiquiri and opt for a beer (light or regular), a glass of wine or a cocktail made with a no-sugar mixer (water, diet soft drink, club soda), and you’ll save no less than 800 sugary calories.

Try making a few of these trade-outs to make your Carnival diet a little less decadent. And check out next week’s column to get the stats on Mardi Gras street-vendor food.

Molly Kimball is a registered dietitian in New Orleans. Her column appears every Friday in Living and her nutrition video blog appears every Tuesday on nola.com/health. She can be reached at eatingright@timespicayune.com.